In the centre of the North Island is Tongariro National Park, the oldest of our national parks and a fascinating area to visit. I had an extra reason for my most recent journey there, as one of my characters visits the park in my work-in-progress.
It’s a volcanic landscape, with tussock and beech forest, mountains and streams, lakes and waterfalls.
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| Mount Ruapehu |
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| Mount Ngauruhoe |
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| Taranaki Falls |
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| Wairere Stream |
There are multi-day hikes in this area. There are also walks that range from a few minutes to a whole day. The main walk we did on this visit was to and from the Tama Lakes, two old explosion craters.
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| Lower Tama Lake, Ruapehu in background |
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| Upper Tama Lake, Ngauruhoe in background |
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My character stays in a rather basic hut, but I was fortunate enough to be staying in the very comfortable hotel that opened in 1930. It’s just visible as a white speck below the patch of dark green a little to the right of the centre of this photograph, below taken from the track overlooking the upper Tama Lake:
Journey’s end was in sight, albeit at quite some distance. I slept soundly that night.
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Oooooh I’ve been there … and now I want to go back!!
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🙂
I never get tired of visiting this area. There’s so much variety, and the landscapes are so interesting.
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I’ve just recently discovered your Web site, but I’ve been reading (and re-reading) your books for two years now. I am an avid reader. To me, there is nothing greater than escaping into a world created by a talented author. Until now, I have never felt the need to contact an author. But you’re books are something entirely different. From the moment I discovered “Sentence of Marraige”, I was taken into Amy’s world, and fell in love with the people, the culture, and your writing. Leaving one of your books feels similar to physically leaving a place you don’t want to leave. The joke in my house is that, when I’m reading, I might as well be in New Zealand. I am so happy to see that there is a work in progress, and I have no doubt that when it is finished and published, I will be one of the first to get it. Thank you so much for bringing Amy and her world to mine. You are truly an artist.
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Thanks so much for your lovely comments, Dana! I’m very happy to have brought you into Amy’s world.
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I discovered your New Zealand series last month and have now read all of them AM sorry to.hear that your work in progress is not the rest of Daisy’s story…SO hard to wait a long time between books. But whenever you publish it, my Kindle and I will be waiting to download! Thanks for creating this mesmerizing series…and for the family charts that make it possible to keep the myriad characters straight!
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Thanks, Liz! It’s great to hear you’ve enjoyed them – and good to know you’ve found the family trees useful! I enjoyed creating them.
I definitely intend to get back to Daisy’s story. In the mean time, thanks for your patience. 🙂